State Representatives Criticize Governor Walz and DFL After 2024 Test Scores Show Decline in Student Proficiency Rates

(KNSI) — State representatives issued a scathing statement following the release of data from the Minnesota Department of Education’s 2024 MCA test results, which showed less than half of students are proficient in reading, math and science.

Overall, student proficiency in reading is at 49.9%, unchanged from last year. Third graders, in particular, have seen a decline in proficiency, dropping from 47.4% in 2023 to 46.5% this year. In math, student proficiency remains steady at 45.5%, with no improvement from 2023. Science scores showed a slight increase, with proficiency rising from 39.2% to 39.6%.

State Representatives Ron Kresha (R-Little Falls), the Republican Lead on the Minnesota House Education Finance Committee, and Peggy Bennett (R-Albert Lea), the Republican Lead on the Minnesota House Education Policy Committee, say since Governor Tim Walz took office in 2019, Minnesota has experienced declines in student proficiency rates of 16% in reading, 17% in math, and 23% in science.

According to the 2024 Kids Count Data Book, Minnesota placed 19th in the country on a comparison of state-to-state education. The state previously ranked sixth. It showed that 54% of kids ages three and four were not in school, and 68% of fourth graders were not proficient in reading, which was the first time students in this state had ever fallen below the national average. It also showed that 68% of eighth graders were not proficient in math, and 17% of students were not graduating on time.

“Any educator will tell you that reading well by third grade is critical to future learning,” said Bennett, a former elementary school teacher. “We cannot continue pushing failed education strategies and expect better results. Republicans have offered numerous common-sense solutions that focus on academics, literacy, high expectations, and local control. Instead, the Democrats passed more than 60 new mandates that micromanage our schools, burdening and distracting them from the core academics that need our focus.”

Kresha added, “Minnesota schools and teachers now have more mandates to follow, and fewer students that have overcome the education achievement gap,” Kresha said. “Governor Walz and legislative Democrats continue to prioritize political agendas and failed policies instead of strategies and resources that would help all of our teachers and students succeed. These people are weird.”

Kresha and Bennett emphasized that these persistently poor results highlight the failure of the DFL’s education agenda, which could have long-term negative impacts on students and schools across Minnesota. The two say the blame should not be directed at the shortcomings of local schools or educators but say the result is due to the policies promoted by Governor Walz and the DFL-controlled legislature.

In an email from the Minnesota GOP sent to KNSI News, it says, “Some of Gov. Walz’s policies that have done the least to help out students include the funding for MDE which has far outpaced funding increases for schools. Addressing learning loss from school closures, for what factor that has on declining scores, has missed the mark on focusing to get students caught up on fundamentals. The Governor’s appointees on the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board fail to hold teacher preparation programs accountable for not adequately preparing teachers for the classroom.

“This is also as much about the policies the Governor does not push or promote. No effort to empower parents to be active participants in their children’s education. No effort to allow for local control and innovation in our schools.”

Some of the numbers may be hangovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted how students were able to learn and attend class. Numerous other factors contributing to the decline include racial inequality, income disparities, underfunding and complacency. “The lack of urgency from Governor Walz to address the ongoing decline in student proficiency in reading, math, and science is not surprising. Just as he allowed widespread fraud in childcare and the Feeding Our Future program due to inaction, he is again failing to implement effective policy changes that would help get our students back on track.”

This past session, the legislature passed, and the governor signed a massive education spending bill that directs $2.3 billion toward schools, but critics say it does little in the way of accountability for academic achievement, or lack thereof.

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